2/26 Arbella Quote Worthy: Celtics vs. Jazz

Read what the players and coaches had to say following Boston's 114-103 victory over Utah.

Click on a player to reveal quotes from their postgame press conference.

Brad Stevens

On the play of Jayson Tatum tonight:

“He was really good. He scored the ball very efficiently, and then at the end of the game, when they were blitzing him, he got rid of it. You saw some of the stuff that you saw in the Lakers game the other day, where they try to send two at him, and did a good job of getting rid of it quickly. Then Jaylen, Marcus and others made plays, so it was good.”

On responding to the Jazz run in the second quarter:

“They’re gonna go on runs here. This is a hard place to play. They’re a good team. You know it’s not going to be a game it’s just going to all go your way, so you just talk about what you need to do a little bit better. Mitchell got going against us in the pick and roll. We just tried to tweak some things we were doing there. But I thought our guys played really well and were really resilient all night. That start of the fourth, with a lot of second unit guys out there was good.”

On the scoring duel between Mitchell and Tatum in the second quarter:

“Those two guys are really good, aren’t they? Sometimes I think we over-scrutinize the better players in this league. When you watch them do what those two were doing, not many people can do that.”

On the resiliency of his team playing their third game in four nights on the road:

“I’ve been really lucky to be around a lot of really good teams in my time, both in college and in the pros and they all share that (resiliency). If you’re not that, then you won’t be the best you can be. It’s good to see it. Now we’ll see if we can keep being it. There’s too much season left to write the story about what you are. You have to keep doing it.”

Marcus Smart

On the duel between Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum:

“I was thinking, ‘This is fun.’ It was fun to watch. It was fun to be a part of and it’s always good when you have guys going as hard as those guys were going tonight. They both had it tonight and you commend them for it.”

On their offense in the fourth quarter:

“We just stayed with the game plan. We ran our offense. We executed. When it was time to execute, we did our jobs. We got them moving and talking and they lost me a few times. I hit the first one. Enes got a couple easy layups. When you do that, it’s demoralizing for a team, especially the way we were playing. They were coming back at us in the fourth quarter, but we just continued to get stops and pressing the game all the way.”

On going 3-1 on this road trip:

“We should’ve beat LA. We should’ve won that game. But other that that, as a team, we came in and did what we wanted to do. We focused on each other. We focused on trying to get better. And we did that.”

Enes Kanter

On him still getting booed in this arena all these years later:

“It’s just silly. It was like, seven or eight years ago, whatever. People make mistakes and what I said was crazy, of course. I feel like it’s not hate anymore. I feel like they’re just enjoying it. It’s good for them because it just keeps them in the game, so the game becomes more exciting I guess.”

On playing for the Boston Celtics:

“I love it. I think it’s one of the well-run organizations in the league, one of the well-respected. When you play basketball with guys like JT (Jayson Tatum), JB (Jaylen Brown), Kemba (Walker), Gordon (Hayward), Marcus (Smart) and the second unit, everybody… the game just becomes more fun. We’re just going out there playing hard, playing smart, having fun. We have a really good coaching staff and a really good fan base so I love it.”

Jayson Tatum

On competing against Donovan Mitchell:

“It’s extremely fun. That’s my guy. Known him for a while. Competed against him for a long time even in college and high school. Spent a lot of time together on Team USA. I love his game. That’s my guy.”

On the game:

“This was big. This was big for our team. This is a tough place to play. It’s a great way to end a road trip…I’m happy we got this win for [Gordon Hayward]. Glad we got that for him.”

On where they are as a team :

“We’re in a good spot. We’re just trying to continue to get better every game.”

Quin Snyder

On the team’s performance:

“While it’s not the result that we want, obviously, but I thought we gave a really, really pure, good effort. I think you can feel it watching the game. We’ve got to make a few more shots. Boston hit some tough shots and we had a couple breakdowns that cost us during the stretch, particularly when [Marcus] Smart hit those threes. But I saw a team that was committed to defending and playing together.”

On players individual struggles:

“I don’t think there are any sweeping generalizations. Everybody has had tough stretches, tough nights. Donovan [Mitchell] is doing everything he can. He led us in assists tonight. We’ve got some guys that we believe in and are going to find it. That’s all of us as much as anything. That’s why it’s a team game. The message is really that simple. Everybody keep playing and keep competing, play together, play hard and play defense.”

On the effect of make or miss in a losing streak:

“You always know when you miss and feel when you make. I think that the thing that we have talked about is our absolutes and trying to control the things that we can control. By and large I thought we did that tonight. Like I said, there were some breakdown at various times. That will happen and that’s when making shots helps because it equalizes those things, but players always feel when the ball is going in and when it’s not. We are all human and making shots, getting dunks, those things give you energy. But I thought we did a good job tonight playing through that. When we weren’t making, our defensive effort and energy stayed at a good level. I felt differently about tonight’s game compared to the games we have played the last couple games. Not a moral victory in that sense at all, but a team that is just going to keep working and keep finding it and keep getting better from where we were two nights ago.”

Donovan Mitchell

On the positives from tonight’s effort:

“We competed defensively. I think we can hang our hats on that, but now it is about sustaining it for 48 minutes. I don’t think that we should be upset about our effort, just little mistakes that we can fix. They’re a good team. They are going to capitalize if you make mistakes.”

On getting Joe Ingles more involved on offense:

“I think, for one, just moving the ball a little bit more. I think we got a little stagnant and it messes up his timing a little bit. They did a good job, but we will work on it.”

On if he felt there were improvements since the Phoenix game:

“Sure. We definitely saw a team that came out hungry and aggressive. I have no complaints about what we did defensively. You are going to make mistakes and now it is just about limiting them.”

Rudy Gobert

On improvements and areas that still need work:

“I liked it when we played defense tonight. I think it was a better night compared to the last two games. We still have some work to do, but overall we put ourselves in a position where we can win the game. Marcus Smart hit three threes in a row or they hit two shots, some things we can fix but for the most part I think we are on the right path defensively.”

On the specific improvements on defense:

“I think everything. Mostly pressure on the ball, physicality, disruption, we were more disruptive tonight. Transition defense. I think we did a good job running back. We [committed] fewer fouls when we needed to. We were just smarter defensively.”

On the offense in the fourth quarter:

“The ball could move better. When you stop moving it, it’s magical, we aren’t as good defensively. We’ve got to stay on each other and make sure we keep moving it.”